Nutson's Nuggets - Automotive News Factoids July 22-28, 2013
Just In Case You Were Dozing

Auto Central Louisville, KY July 28, 2013;Each week
Larry Nutson, Senior Editor, New York Bureau of The Auto Channel, along with
Steve Purdy and Thom Cannell from The Auto Channel Michigan Bureau give you
easy to digest nuggets of the past week's automotive news you may have
missed.

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Automotive News July 22-28, 2013

* BMW announced pricing for the BMW i3 electric vehicle. The MSRP in the
U.S. will be $41,350, before any federal or state incentives. Destination &
Handling fee is extra and is currently $925. The BMW i3’s 170
horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque hybrid-synchronous electric motor,
developed and produced by BMW, is electrified by a 22-kWh lithium-ion
battery, good for 80-100 miles of emission-free driving. Designed from the
ground up to be an electric car, the BMW i3 uses the Industry’s first
mass produced carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) passenger cell mounted
on an aluminum chassis. The BMW i3 will offer interior space comparable to
the BMW 3 Series on a shorter overall body.The BMW i3 will make its world
debut at three simultaneous events in New York, London and Beijing this
Monday, July 29. It will arrive in U.S. showrooms in the second quarter of
2014.

* Bentley Motors (part of the Volkswagen Group) confirmed that it will
proceed with the development of the Bentley SUV, the company’s fourth
model line. The SUV will be made in Crewe and will go on sale in 2016. It
will create over 1000 jobs in the UK. The SUV will be a thoroughbred
Bentley true to the brand hallmarks of luxury, performance, quality and
craftsmanship. The styling will set it apart from any other SUV on the road
and will be true to the Bentley design DNA. It will be the most luxurious
and most powerful SUV in the market. The new Bentley SUV will be based on
the EXP 9 F concept vehicle revealed during the 2012 Geneva Motor Show and
should sell at around $230,000, perhaps a bargain if it has the aesthetic
appeal of the Continental.

* NASCAR went back to its roots this week to race on a dirt track for
the first time since 1970. The NASCAR Truck Series raced at Eldora Speedway
half-mile dirt track for a one-night only special designed to reconnect
NASCAR with its early roots and give fans raised on asphalt and stock cars
a taste of the wild races run in the dust. The last time one of NASCAR's
top touring series competed on dirt was Sept. 30, 1970, when Richard Petty
won a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (called the Grand National Division at that
time) race at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh.

* According to the J.D. Power 2013 U.S. Automotive Performance,
Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study, Volkswagen Group received the highest
number of segment awards of all corporations included in the study for the
Audi Allroad, Porsche Boxster, Porsche Cayenne, Volkswagen GTI and
Volkswagen Passat. Chevrolet received the highest number of segment awards
of any brand for the Avalanche, Sonic and Volt models, all of which also
received awards in 2012. Ford and Nissan brands each receive two model
awards: Ford, for the F-250/F-350 Super Duty and Mustang; Nissan, for the
Armada and Murano. Also receiving awards are the BMW 5 Series; Buick
Encore; Dodge Charger; Fiat 500; Honda Odyssey; Kia Soul; Land Rover Range
Rover; Lexus LS; Lincoln MKZ; Mazda CX-5; and Mercedes-Benz SL-Class. The
Land Rover Range Rover achieved the highest APEAL score of any model in the
industry in 2013, which marks the first time a model outside the large
premium car segment has done so. Porsche is the highest-ranked nameplate
for a ninth consecutive year. Ram is the highest-ranked non-premium
nameplate.

* Big news for GM this week: Consumer Reports named the new Chevy Impala
Best in Class, rating 95 points out of 100 on their scale. The 2014
Chevrolet Impala became the highest-scoring sedan in Consumer
Reports’ ratings. Among all cars, its 95-point score falls short of
just the Tesla Model S ultra-luxury hatchback (99) and BMW 1 Series coupe
(97). No other domestic car has topped the sedans ratings since CR began
tracking scores in that fashion over 20 years ago. Impala shares a platform
with the Cadillac XtS and Buick LeCrosse but has a personality entirely
distinct from either. The category is "large sedans" and includes some far
pricier competitors like Lexus LS and Audi A6. Despite its high test score,
this Impala is too new for Consumer Reports to have reliability data, so it
can’t be Recommended.

* Not only is Mazda bringing its first diesel to the U.S. this fall in
the new Mazda6 but they are also making history at the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway this weekend with a racing version of the 2.2-liter, turbo diesel
engine that make 445 pound-feet of torque. A diesel has not completed on
that legendary track since 1952 when a 6.6-liter Cummins diesel powered a
special Kurtis-Draft racer.

* Toyota edged out GM again in the competition to be the global
automobile sales leader. The Japanese company sold 4.91 million cars, light
trucks and crossovers for the first half of calendar 2013 a slight decline
from the same period in 2012. Toyota took the lead during the industry bust
of 2008 and lost it only once since, the result of the devastating
earthquake and tsunami of 2011. GM gets the honors for Q2 beating Toyota by
10,000 units. So, who really cares?

* Word came this week that Acura plans to show a running version of the
long-awaited new NSX super car that they showed in concept form at a
variety of motor shows in the past year. The car will be build in Ohio and
we'll see it doing a few parade laps at the Mid Ohio race track as part of
the August 4th Izod Indy Car Series race. Honda is a primary sponsor of the
race.

* Classically Italian Fiat and proudly American Chrysler may find
themselves combined as a Dutch company if boss, Canadian Sergio Marchionne
has his way. He's considering registering the new merged company in the
Netherlands. Before the companies can come together, though, Fiat would
have to gather more Chrysler stock from the automakers union entity called
VEBA.